Stuart Fails To Save The Universe is the third spinoff of The Big Bang Theory. It debuted on July 23, 2026 on HBO. This series brings back beloved characters Stuart, Bert, Denise, and of course Barry Kripke. A significant departure from the standard sitcom series, this single-camera show follows the characters as they travel to alternate universes in an attempt to return their own universe to order.
Despite being a Warner Bros/HBO production, the show’s exteriors were primarily filmed at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Courthouse Square
A majority of the shots in the pilot episode were filmed in Courthouse Square. While this area has appeared in countless productions over the years, it’s most recognizable from Back To The Future. Much of the plot centred around the Clock Tower, which has also been a courthouse or City Hall over the years.
Stuart’s comic book shop is located directly across the street from the courthouse and it’s park. This spot has been home to a gas station/garage set for a number of years. From what I can tell, it looks like the comic book shop was a facade set up in front of that gas station.
A number of other parts of Courthouse Square appear in the series as well. There are facades of storefronts surrounding the square, which were made to look post-apocolyptic for the premiere episode.
Caltech
The exterior of Caltech is also located on the Universal backlot, specifically on the Park Avenue section. When I last visited a couple years ago, it was partially a glass office building facade attached to an older stone facade, It appears that they’ve made the glass building larger since then, perhaps even for this specific show.
Colonial Street
The ninth episode “Spoiler: We Couldn’t Get Green Lantern” features the characters visiting Colonial Street on the Universal Backlot. This area is filled with residential house facades. It is more famously known as Wisteria Lane from the series Desperate Housewives. The specific house belonging to Amy and the Flash is the blue house in the first two pictures below. It was used as the McClusky house on Desperate Housewives. It was also the main house on the series Erin & Aaron. The street has been used in many other shows and movies, including The Munsters, Leave It To Beaver, and both The Burbs movie and TV series.
If you’d like to check out Universal Studios for yourself, you can take the tram tour attraction at the theme park. For a more in depth tour, check out their VIP tours.
Warner Bros New York Street
The same episode features the characters in a comic book town. This was filmed along the New York Street area of the Warner Bros. backlot. The show actually used CGI to amalgamate several buildings together.
Stage 25
In the first season finale “Spoiler: Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience”, the characters enter a universe where they are in a sitcom. We see them inside the stage where their sitcom is filmed. Then we see them outside Stage 25 on the Warner Bros lot. This stage was specifically used as it was the home of The Big Bang Theory. In fact, it was even named “The Big Bang Theory Stage” in honour of the show’s successful run. For this episode, the plaque outside was changed to read “Stuart Fails To Save The Universe Stage”.
We then see the characters walking along one of the roads between stages. The camera then pans out to show the entrance at Warner Bros’ Gate 2 along West Olive Avenue. This part of the studio wall contains large banners showing different shows that are filming on the lot.
Warner Bros. also offers a number of studio tours, if you wish to see it up close. You can see more details here.
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